


Lost Time

by MashUpGames



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Sole Survivor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F!Sole Survivor is Not a Lawyer, F/M, Fluff and Angst, John Hancock is a Little Shit, Piper is nosey, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-10-17 06:43:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20616695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MashUpGames/pseuds/MashUpGames
Summary: The woman was already leaving, passing Deegans' table without even glancing in his direction. He grabbed her arm to stop her from getting to the stairs. Probably a stupid move, considering the womans' reflexes. Her head whipped around, body tight and ready to spring, shiny curls bouncing around her face as her eyes locked on him. He let go immediately, stepping back.  The woman relaxed almost immediately, and looked him up and down. It wasn't the kind of looking he was used to. He hadn't been eye-fucked since about the time the bombs fell. Shit, this was probably a bad idea.





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> Deegan is probably one of the cutest ghouls in FO4, and I couldn't resist trying my hand at a soulmate AU, so let me know what you guys think!

Waking up in an empty vault was one of the most nerve-wracking situations Elanora had ever been in. The ice from what she now knew to be a cryogenic pod felt like it had seeped into her bones, the faint hum of machinery echoed off the metal walls and ceilings. It was the only sound she heard other than the pounding of her heart. With shaking hands, Nora pried the wedding ring from Nates' cold finger before sealing the pod closed again. Unless she could find a way out of the vault and get somewhere safe, it would likely be the closest thing to a coffin he would ever get. Their marriage had just been another long-term assignment for her, but on paper-and as far as he had known- it was a government match set up to help with his PTSD. Nate had been good to her, despite it all. He deserved better than murder. After digging through the terminals, she found that every single person who had been put in cryo was dead. The vault of Sanctuary Hills was now a burial ground she would have to crawl out of. 

Getting through the vault itself was simple, the giant cockroaches were probably the weirdest thing she'd ever had to fight, and it took a lot of her training to keep from loosing her shit. The police baton wasn't the worst weapon she'd ever had to use, but was glad to find the pistol nonetheless. To say Nora was delighted with the rifle pillaged from the Overseers' office would be an understatement. She breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator gate opened, speakers blurbing out an automated 'Thank you for choosing Vault-tech', and prayed that her good luck wouldn't run out during the ride back up. If Nora could get out, she could take care of herself, but she owed it to Nate to find Shaun.

Deegan never had the time to seek out his soulmate. First he was busy playing in the dirt with the other boys, when girls were gross and hismother was constantly getting on his case about tracking in mud. Then he was busy with sports and school, and none of the girls had pretty enough to make him want to explain things to the his soulmate later on. Waiting until you met your soulmate was still considered the proper thing to do, although there were times the government stepped in and forced couples they deemed compatible together for the sake of 'the future'-or someone got a little carried away and ended up with a shotgun wedding. 

Edward went into the military, and in between the bombs and the artillery he thought about the name on his arm. Elanora Whitley. A looping, feminine cursive that curled halfway up his forearm. She probably kept her hair curled and wore flower prints. He sometimes wondered if she had black or brown hair, or maybe red? She might be a blonde, like all women in the posters and billboards. She could be the Nuka-Girl model, for all he knew. All he had were a name and a few moments here and there to let his mind wander.  
He woke up one morning at ass-o'clock, started going through his morning routine. He was halfway through a perimeter check when he happened to look down and saw his arm. Her name had changed. Elanora Calibri. There were only three reasons why someone's last name would change, and Unlce Sam had bigger things to worry about than someone who didn't like what their parents had slapped on their birth certificate. Divorce was rare, and it was highly unlikely that a young twenty or thirty-something would get one with the war on. There were a lot of girls getting married though. He hadn't thought loosing someone he hadn't even met would hurt so much. 

Drinking didn't do much to kill his disappointment, but he started working for the Cabots not long after, and that kept him distracted for a while. Then the bombs fell, and he didn't have time to care anymore.


	2. At First Glance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deegan and Nora lay eyes on each other for the first time, but aren't sure what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your comments and kudos! I hope everyone likes this one.

The first time she caught Deegans' eye was in the Third Rail, drinking with the gun-for-hire MacCready. They were in a dark corner, as far from Magnolias' stage as they could get but still reach the bar, and the woman had more the air of Old World military, rather than Commonwealth Mercenary. The pretty blonde was obviously from a vault, even if she hadn't had the Pip-Boy, she was far too healthy and far too clean to be native to the Commonwealth. 

The blonde had the chair in the corner, back against the wall, and a clear view of the whole place. MacCready was sitting next to her, back against the other wall. They both kept scanning their surroundings, going from the bar, the stage, the stairs, the open floor, the backroom, and back to the bar again. Deegan couldn't hear over Magnolias' crooning, but their mouths were moving. They almost never looked at each other, only keeping watch. 

With a long-practiced air of nonchalance, he made his way over to the bar and sat down, near the end by their table. It helped that the bar itself was crowded, making it easier to sit so far down without it seeming odd. He ordered a beer and used the break in music to tune in to their conversation.

"-seemed like a solid bet, and I wasn't wrong." The woman said.

MacCready snorted derisively. "I don't see how. Those two a- er, jerks were threatening to pump me full of lead when you walked in."

She chuckled. "They said they were upset about you working in Boston, so obviously you had to be good. Turned out you were competition enough for the whole pack, not just those two."

"Well duh, I'm the best you'll ever find." He said cockily.

"Mm-hm. And you've got brains too."

"If you mean smart enough to know which end of a gun to shoot with, then yeah."

"I meant smart enough to strategize and find a good base to operate out of, but that helps too." The woman muttered wryly. 

Deegan couldn't help being at least a little impressed with her observational skills. Most people would have just seen an ex-gunner and moved on. He'd have to keep her in mind the next time he needed to hire someone. 

Nora was only half paying attention to MacCready on her left, instead she was trying to decide if the irradiated hellscape that used to be Boston was boring or exciting, and having no real luck. On the one hand, she could build a hand-held nuke launcher in front of her house and no one would look twice, but sneaking and subterfuge were almost completely moot. There were no glittering galas for her to sneak a weapon into under her dress, no government or high-profile officials to tail and assassinate, just raiders and super mutants screaming and running at her on sight. She loved blowing things up as much as any pyro did, but she missed the challenge and the mystery of a good, complicated target.  
The Third Rail wasn't a bad place at all to take her mind off of it though. Even Nora had to admit Magnolia was an angel with the microphone, and she HATED jazz. Charlie was funny, in a snobby, grumpy kind of way, and the other patrons all had the perfect blend of friendly and suspicious. Hancock was just an all around party, and easy on the eyes to boot. She was almost certain that the Mayor and his right-hand woman had something going on, and was only a little dissappointed. She wouldn't mind climbing the slightly-psychotic ghoul like a tree, but wasn't about to step onto that field of landmines. 

That first visit to Goodneighbor had been a bit of a shock. The old red-light district was still a hotbed of vices, but it was a lot more homey, with a lot of new faces. The conversation with Daisy about "friendly faces" still had been informative, to say the least. Nora had made the mistake of believing Garveys' perspective on ghouls to be the norm. Then again, she had seen far more horrific things happen to people before she'd gotten married. Hell, she'd DONE worse to people than a little radiation burning. Not every interrogation went on record, after all. 

The music started up again, and the ghoul who had just sat down stood back up again. He'd only had two beers, and as far as Nora could tell, wasn't affected. He was taller than most ghouls she'd seen, and built like a brick shit-house. She briefly wondered how much bigger he'd been before the radiation, but then dismissed it. He was already big enough she could literally climb him, and given the chance she most certainly would. 

He shoved the stool back in with a boot, and turned. He barely glanced at them before walking away and up the old subway stairs. Nora frowned, disappointed. She was pretty, and used to being looked at twice. Usually with jaws hanging. 

"You're pouting again." MacCready grumbled after several minuets of silence.

"What could I possibly be pouting about?" She asked, deliberately taking a sip of her whiskey. 

Her friend laughed. "Other than not having one of those fancy flushing toilets or soap? I'm gonna take a bet and say it's because that ghoul didn't offer to buy you a drink."

Nora gave him a perplexed look. It was one she'd perfected years before her "retirement". "There's a lot of ghouls here, which one are you talking about?"

He gave her his biggest, shit-eating grin. "Probably the one who's ass you stared at the whole time he walked out."

She smacked him on the arm, ignoring the faint heat crawling over her cheeks. She tried to console herself with the fact that the ghoul likely wasn't interested in smoothskins at all. It didn't help much, neither did MacCready laughing at her.

Deegan gave Ham a brief nod before pushing open the old subway doors and stepping out into the unofficial town square. He took one deep, steadying breath, letting it out slowly in an effort to clear his head. He'd only allowed himself a quick glance to get her face, and it felt like he'd been hit with a crowbar. 'Perfect' sounded cliche, but it was nonetheless true. Shiny blue eyes the color of the early afternoon sky, soft, full lips a sunset pink, pert little nose, and a soft, round face framed by golden curls. The nuka-girl had nothing on the woman who'd hired MacCready, and if the tight-fitting leathers were any indication, she was soft and full everywhere. Deegan blew out another slow breath, and tried to focus on work. He'd come here to get information from White-Chapel and Hancock, and he'd gotten half of it done already. Hancock was next, and he needed to talk to him before he started lighting up again. If he hadn't started already.


End file.
